MOSCOW:(Islamweb & Agencies) -Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov offered support on Wednesday to the ousted government of Afghanistan and called on regional powers to abide by a UN resolution banning the supply of arms to the Islamic Taliban regime. (Read photo caption below)
The reference to arms supplies appeared aimed directly at the government of Pakistan, which Moscow has accused of arming the Taliban fighters who took control of much of Afghanistan after seizing the capital, Kabul, in 1996.
Ivanov told the visiting foreign minister of the ousted Afghan government, Abdullah Abdullah, that Moscow believed in "keeping the independence and sovereignty of Afghanistan", Russian foreign ministry officials told reporters.
The officials said Afghanistan's brutal, long-running civil war and the fight against what he called 'terrorism' were the main focus of the talks between the two men.
The government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani was ousted from Kabul in 1996 by the Islamists Taliban regime, who now control more than 90 percent of Afghan territory.
The Northern Alliance commanded by Ahmad Shah Masood is fighting desperately against the militia, whose rule is not been recognised by the international community except for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Moscow has been particularly concerned about the Taliban's potential links to Islamic Resistance in Chechnya, and the foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it would stand firmly by the ousted government.
Last October Russia's then defence minister, Igor Sergeyev, met Masood in Tajikistan to discuss military aid from Russia, according to the Moscow press.
Moscow and Washington as well as Israel accuse the Taliban regime of harbouring 'suspected terrorists', including Saudi millionaire Osama bin Laden.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov (L) and his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan shake hands in Shanghai, June 14, 2001. China threw a tight security net around this vibrant port for the meeting of the Shanghai Five -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- only revealing the summit venue to reporters late on Wednesday. The so-called Shanghai-5 discussed Afghanistan what the they call the Threat of Islamic Fundamentalism REUTERS/Goh Chai Hin/Pool